Explain why the 1997 general election is a good example of a dealignment election.
Usually throughout British political elections there has been a clear alignment between social groups, this alignment however has been somewhat blurred since the 1997 general election. Before the 1997 election most people voted for whomever their families voted for or whichever political party represented their social class the best. The two main parties throughout British politics have been Labour and Conservative, Labour had always represented the working class and the Conservatives had always represented the middle and upper classes. From 1979 when the conservatives won the election with Margaret Thatcher as their leader they were able to hold three successive victories over their opposition, in 1990 John Major took over leadership of the conservative party and won another election in 1992.